State seeks Wallace's letters to mother

Cory Wallace,is accused of causing the death of his infant son in February 2015, and then setting fires in a bid to hide the baby's cause of death, is led to a court hearing after his August 2015 arrest.(Photo: Corey Ohlenkamp/The Star Press)Buy Photo

MUNCIE – Prosecutors want to review letters Cory Michael Wallace has written to his mother while awaiting trial on charges stemming from the death of his infant son.

Wallace, 23, most recently of Indianapolis, was arrested last August in connection with the February 2015 death of five-month-old Jensen Wallace.

Authorities said Cory Wallace admitted dropping the baby onto a hardwood floor in their family’s Meeker Avenue home, failing to seek medical treatment for what proved to be fatal head injuries, and then setting fires in a bid to cover up the cause of his son’s death.

He faces five felony charges, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death and arson. His trial is set to begin June 6.

Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees this week signed an order directing Cory Wallace’s mother, Cristie L. Hitchens, to surrender “any and all correspondence, letters or notes” received from her son since his Aug. 7 arrest.

Hitchens, of Indianapolis, has also been ordered to produce any letters she has received from her daughter-in-law, Sheryl Wallace, also in the Delaware County jail awaiting trial on charges related to the baby’s death.

In a motion filed last week, Chief Trial Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman reported Hitchens had not responded to an earlier subpoena for the correspondence.

Hoffman wrote that the day Hitchens received that request, on Feb. 23, she had a phone conversation with her son that was recorded at the Delaware County jail.

According to Hoffman, Hitchens told Cory Wallace she didn’t want to surrender the letters and would instead “burn them all.”

Sheryl Wallace, 21, appeared in Vorhees’ court for a pre-trial hearing Monday. Her trial date has not been set.

Hoffman told the judge he hoped to bring Cory Wallace to trial before his wife.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.